Ferrari F12 TRS

Ferrari are rather good at making good-looking cars, but they’ve gone a step further and made the stunning F12 TRS for a special customer. The one-off car is rumoured to have cost around $4.2 million, and for that you get the same 6.3-litre V12 producing 740hp and 690Nm of torque as in the F12 Berlinetta, allowing it to get from 0-100km/h in 3.1 sec and from 0-200km/h in 8.1 sec. You also get one of the rarest cars ever, and a car that will be very sought after by collectors.

Ford Focus ST

The Ford Focus ST has received a few updates, the biggest of which is the availability of a diesel engine. The turbocharged 2.0-litre EcoBoost with 250hp is carried over from the previous version, but it now comes with a stop-start function – improving fuel efficiency by a claimed six percent. As mentioned before, a new diesel engine is available – a 2.0-litre TDCi unit producing 185hp and 400Nm of torque, with CO2 emissions being 114g/km. Acceleration from 0-100km/h is 6.5 sec for the petrol option and 8.1 sec for the diesel option. Other updates include new chassis control technologies, tuned suspension and steering, and bespoke tyre specification. The exterior gets new headlamps, grille, bumper design, and 19-inch wheels. The interior now gets a new SYNC 2 connectivity system with a high definition 8-inch touch screen.

Jaguar F-TYPE Project 7

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Le Mans winning D-type, Jaguar will be building a special edition F-TYPE called the Project 7. The car will come with a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine producing 575hp and 680Nm, propelling the 1,585kg roadster from 0-100km/h in 3.9 sec and on to an electronically limited top speed of 300km/h. The Project 7 name pays homage to Jaguar’s seven Le Mans titles, and will be limited to 250 examples. An eight-speed Quickshift automatic transmission is standard, as well as an Electronic Active Differential, Carbon Ceramic Matrix (CCM) brakes, and Torque Vectoring by Braking (TVbB). Other items found on the Project 7 are carbon-fibre aerodynamic aids and a different suspension set-up to the standard F-TYPE.

When the current Kia Sportage made its first appearance in 2010, it struck me as one of the best-looking crossover SUVs I’ve seen in a long time. Fast forward to this mildly facelifted 2014 version, and things are much the same. Competitors such as the Toyota RAV4 and Ford Kuga have since been newly released, but despite them being a bit younger, I personally think the Sportage still beats them in the looks department. The only car I can think of that’s in the same segment that looks better is the rather more expensive Range Rover Evoque. Apart from looks though, my two weeks with the Sportage revealed other reasons for why it’s a rather good car to live with.